1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle and a hybrid power system.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continuous decrease of global crude oil resources and the increase of petroleum price, all the countries actively seek for other alternative energies and the energy conservation methods to alleviate the impact of petroleum crisis.
Currently, the power sources that can be used in the automobile include fuel (diesel fuel, gasoline) engines, solar energy power systems, and electric drive systems, and so on. Among the above power sources, some have a preferred power effect and superior durability, but actually does not conform to the environmental protection requirement, while others conforms to the environmental protection requirement, but cannot achieve the required power effect.
For example, although an electric automobile and a solar energy automobile do not adopt the conventional fuel engine, the power efficiency of these new power sources is limited. Therefore, it is unfeasible to merely use a single power source.
Then, after diligent research and development, a new concept and technology named hybrid power using two types of power sources in complementation is formed. The hybrid power not only achieves a preferred power effect and a superior durability, but also meets the environmental protection requirement.
In the hybrid power system, because the coupling between various powers is one of the most critical techniques, not all the couplers can be used to couple different powers. In the currently known hybrid power systems, powers are coupled mostly through a torque converter or a planetary gear train, and sometimes through a disc clutch. At present, only the power assistant hybrid system adopts the disc clutch. The system is directly coupled to the crank of the engine by a single motor and rotates coaxially synchronously therewith, or is coupled in series with the transmission main shaft through a gear by using a single motor, and then is coupled with the engine through the disc clutch. However, this system has the following disadvantages.
1. The gear ratio shifting is completed by controlling the rotation speed of a single motor, such that the speed of the shifting is not quick, and the shifting is not smooth, so that it is difficult to improve the efficiency of the transmission.
2. The disc clutches according to the prior art can be substantially classified into two types, namely a mechanical type and a hydraulic type. The mechanical type uses an actuation lever to manipulate the engage and disengage of the clutch mechanically, which has a complicated mechanism and high cost of parts. The hydraulic type directly actuates the clutch by using an oil hydraulic pump to drive the oil cylinder instead of using the lever to actuate the clutch, which has a high cost of the oil hydraulic system, possibly has the oil leakage problem, and is difficult to be assembled and maintained. Moreover, the actuations of the two types are slow, such that the engage and disengage of the clutch are not smooth, and the transmission efficiency is reduced.